Elite is one of those computer games that there are probably people still playing today.  Similar to titles like Civilization, Elite was huge and could go on as long as you wanted it to- there is was no real push to “finish” it.  When you died, or got bored with your current game, you could simply restart and have a nearly completely new game await you.  Pretty cool.  Apparently, way back in 1994, Elite was planned to come to the Sega Genesis.  Unfortunately, that never happened but we have proof it was being worked on.

What we can see in the video of this tech demo showcasing Elite on the Sega Genesis is that it was quite far along in development.  There are some key things not shown off such as docking and the whole bartering/item movement process, and planets are not shown at all either.  There is a lot of space and some combat with other ships, even super huge ships are shown.

Graphically, Elite on the Genesis is not all that detailed if compared to games of today.  For 1994 though, this would have been amazing.  The polygon graphics are clear, just a little fuzzy as the gradients are a little rough but you can clearly make out a ship versus an asteroid or space debris.  Then when you remember this is all procedurally generated star systems and planets it gets even cooler.  No two games of Elite are exactly the same and that can mean endless opportunity for fans.

It is a shame that we never saw the release of Elite on the Sega Genesis and this video just makes that sting a little more than normal.  Maybe a homebrew developer will take up the challenge to port Elite over, or a facsimile of it.  I would greatly appreciate it, maybe improve the graphics a bit, add some new enemies and items to be bought and sold.

Carl Williams

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